Ruling over Baby P case man hailed

ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen has welcomed a "historic" ruling by top judges to throw out a rape conviction appeal brought by one of the trio jailed over the death of Baby Peter.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, sitting with two other judges in the Court of Appeal in London, threw out a challenge by Steven Barker against his conviction for the rape of a two-year-old girl.

In reaching their decision the judges rejected an argument on 33-year-old Barker's behalf that a conviction based mainly on the evidence of a very young child could never be regarded as safe.

In Barker's case his victim, referred to only as X and who must not be identified, gave evidence when she was aged four-and-a-half. Barker, who claimed he did not have a fair trial, argued that an Old Bailey judge should have excluded her evidence and ruled she was not a "competent" witness.

Lord Judge said that at the heart of the appeal was a submission that "it is not acceptable for a conviction, very heavily dependent on the evidence of a child as young as four-and-a-half years, describing events said to have occurred when she was not yet three years old, to be regarded as safe".

He added: "In reality what we are being asked to consider is an underlying submission that no such conviction can ever be safe."

But he ruled: "The short answer is that it is open to a properly directed jury, unequivocally directed about the dangers and difficulties of doing so, to reach a safe conclusion on the basis of the evidence of a single competent witness, whatever his or her age, and whatever his or her disability. The ultimate verdict is the responsibility of the jury."

Reacting after the ruling, Ms Rantzen said the handing down of the judgment in court lasted only minutes, but it represented "one of the most crucial moments for children and adults in our history because at stake was the validity of a child's evidence".

Ms Rantzen said of Barker's victim: "Her evidence will protect generations of young children and vulnerable adults. The fact that she was able to give what the judges described as not just competent, but compelling evidence means that other children will be heard."

Barker, who was in a relationship with the mother of tragic Peter Connelly, was handed a 12-year sentence for causing or allowing the death of the 17-month-old. He was also sentenced to life after being convicted of rape at a separate trial. He has to serve a minimum term of 10 years before he can seek parole.